on naming dragons

Though nobody but family and friends has read my story up to this point, and they know why my dragons are named the way they are, I can't stand it anymore and I'm going to explain why they have the names they do.

First I have to start off with The Glass Slipper vs. The Slipper and the Rose. Everybody goes crazy for Slipper and the Rose. Whatever. I am woefully under impressed with it. On the other hand, nobody has ever heard of The Glass Slipper, and I love it. Cinderella is feisty and has a temper and the fairy godmother is delightfully loopy. I found on You Tube the best clip in the entire movie. Not only does it show Ella's temper, but it also has the best line in the whole movie, given by the fairy godmother.

Ella: You're getting wet.
Mrs. Toquet (fairy godmother): It's the water.

Very simply stated but beautifully executed.

The link to the scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AnGaBWowkA&feature=related

In the clip, Ella complains about everyone calling her Cinderella because she's covered in soot. Mrs. Toquet muses over the name Cinderella and decides she likes it, along with apple dumpling, pickle relish, and other words. She likes how they feel on her tongue when she says them.

And that is exactly how my dragons are named. Jambalaya was first. It is simply a fun word to say, and years before I had any kind of a story in my head, I knew it was the perfect name for a dragon. Jambalaya. Wonderful word. Mulligatawny followed about a year later. There was still no story, but there was now a second perfect dragon name. Mulligatawny. I love it. Once the story did come along, I kind of had a pattern set, so I started looking for fun food words to name the other dragons. I stuck with soup for the boys (though Pumpernickel is not a soup, but he is also an older dragon, not one connected to a child) and used dessert/sweet words for the girls (Flummery and Sassafras). They are just fun words to say.

That is the extent of the mystery of the dragons' names. They don't have funky southern or middle eastern accents or anything. They're just fun to say.

The other day I saw the word Knickerbocker. Totally fun word. Though Knickerbocker is not an actual food word, the context I saw it in was the name of a sandwich. I'll have to see if I need a name for another dragon, or if it might be the name of something else entirely. A wonderful word to say.

Knickerbocker. Pickle relish. Cinderella.